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Inside the NFL's Official "Fan Conduct Class"

Ever wonder what happens to that asshole who starts screaming obscenities and throwing stuff during the fourth quarter, before getting dragged out by stadium police (after the drunk tank, anyway)? That morning-after regret is Dr. Ari Novick’s territory. Starting this season, the NFL has teamed up with Novick, a certified anger management specialist, to create a mandatory Fan Conduct class for every malcontent who gets ejected during a game. The four-hour online class covers everything from alcohol abuse and improving judgment to developing good communication skills. Curious to learn Novick’s anger and stress management techniques? Two ways through this one: pick a fight with the kid sitting next to you at next week’s game, or read our QA.

GQ: Why is the NFL choosing to address this issue now?

** Ari Novick: ** I think the issue of disruptive fan behavior isn’t new; however, I do think that the ability to provide our services that we do is. We’re now able to provide training we couldn’t twenty, maybe even ten, years ago, to professional sports.

GQ: Did the NFL reach out to you, for a solution to aggressive fans?

** Ari Novick: ** They did. Initially, our program started as an alcohol awareness class and of course, anger is often a byproduct of alcohol, so we piloted a program with MetLife Stadium in 2010, and their director of security called me and said they’d like to utilize one of your programs for fans who are ejected from their stadiums. So we worked with them, and simultaneously put together another program specifically to address disruptive behavior issues, which they also piloted that season. Ultimately, we ended up creating a fan conduct class that addresses all code-of-conduct violations in one.

GQ: Why the online format?

** Ari Novick: ** I think it would just be too difficult to put all ejected fans into a country-wide program. The online format makes a lot of sense, because they get a, individualized experience tailored to the stadium’s rules and policies. Every team has a custom program for their stadium, though many of them overlap and cover the same basic topics. And, they can do it from home, at work, or on their iPhone.

GQ: How does the stadium monitor this program? What is the accountability for this system?

** Ari Novick: ** If the fan returns to the stadium and they haven’t taken the class, they can get arrested. Some stadiums are actually working on implementing facial recognition software.

GQ: Do you have any examples of particularly egregious behavior?

** Ari Novick: ** It’s a long list. If you look at any of the code of conduct issues we cover on the site, you can see what gets you ejected. And it’s important to note that we’re talking about 0.05 percent of the population. This is a tiny minority of fans, and it could be anything from fighting, spilling a beer, yelling profanities at a little kid, all the things that make people feel threatened. The NFL isn’t saying, they don’t want you to have fun, but at the same time it’s important for fans to know that stadiums have rules, and that if you don’t comply with them, there are consequences. We also try to teach people how to be better fans, and to manage their gameday stress better.

GQ: Can you offer any quick anger management techniques? An example of something someone might learn from taking the course?

** Ari Novick: ** The issue really is about changing culture. There is a certain culture when you’re attending games. Fans walk through the gates, and all of a sudden all normal social rules and etiquette no longer apply. Someone who might not normally scream or yell or get in a fight - suddenly, there is this belief that you can act any way you want. It’s like when you go to the movies, and when you walk out there is popcorn and crap all over the floor. That’s movie theater culture. We don’t litter in the outside world; we’ve been chastised since the ’70s for doing that, but in the movie theater it’s okay. And this is the same thing that’s happening in professional sports. So part of the class is spent addressing that culture, and trying to fundamentally educate these fans about how to change that.

A huge part of the class is spent on alcohol awareness. We need to educate these people about drinking in moderation, and the effect their behavior has on others. There is also a big part about managing gameday stress: getting to the game early, managing expectations that there are going to be lines, knowing that your team might do well or not, and putting into perspective that it’s about having fun: It’s about the process, not the outcome. There’s a section about empathy, to know that, hey, when you’re screaming profanities, it might adversely affect someone who is next to you with their children. In fact, for the average person to take the class they’d probably think this is pretty common sense—but you have to remember that these people that are getting ejected are lacking common sense. The class is designed for people who don’t have a behavioral compass, so I’m trying to educate them in a fun and upbeat way.

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